The answer
Yes, God's acceptance of sinners who repent and confess their sins is endless. He is willing to continue to forgive repeat offenders until they die. However, just saying, "sorry," is not repentance, as John the Baptist said, one must also: "bear fruits worthy of repentance" (Matthew 3:8). Thus, in this case, God will not accept, "sorry," from him, if this sinner is not bearing fruits befitting repentance. Sin is in our human nature. There is a vast difference between a sinner that wallows in sin and rejects the Holy Spirit urging repentance. This is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and the only unforgiveable sin. "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men" (Matthew 12:31).Repentance is a way of life. It is a daily struggle. All of us as penitents have some days in better strides combatting sins by God's grace than other days. However, our sins must always be before our eyes so that we strive to further ourselves from complacency and arrogance. The prophet David says, "For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me" (Psalm 51:3). The Church included this psalm in our daily hourly prayers as well as in liturgical prayers because we should be like David in his desire to repent wholeheartedly. We are all sinners, but we must be determined to cease the sins that entrap us, so that we can grow in virtue. Should one fall in the same sin after he repented, he must rise remorsefully, yet hopeful in God's endless mercies and compassion, as the prophet Micah says, "Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me" (Micah 7:8).
The point that you are missing is a very important one, and that is the struggle. The scenarios you mentioned describe opportunists just trying to get away with their transgressions and only half-heartedly repent for selfish gain, need, and greed, but not out of remorse for offending God or hurting a fellow man. This is not repentance. Repentance is a process. St. Mary of Egypt (421 AD) had prostituted herself for seventeen years, then began a life of repentance struggling with her passions and previous life of fornication for many years while she lived in the desert, until she overcame those terrors (Synaxarion). There is a crown for struggling against sin and a crown for overcoming sin. The need to repent could be instantaneous like St. Paul, St. Moses the Strong, St. Paesa, and many others. However, the process and life of repentance needs guidance and healing. Notice in the biographies of many of these penitent saints that God provided a spiritual leader to guide them from a horrid life of bondage in sin to a life abundant in virtues.
Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)